The wrong man
by queennerd100
Summary: After Serena married Dan she thought her life was all planned out but when she catches him having an affair she doesn't know what to do. Lucky for her her best friend Nate will always be there for her, but what if he wants to be more than friends.
1. Waterfall

Serena had her whole life planed since she was five years old, graduate high school, go to brown, and marry a man she loved. She only got to graduating high school before life began to go downhill, she didn't go to any college or get married to a man she loved instead she just married the first guy that asked. Well that wasn't true there was a time she loved Dan but that was a long time ago, before all of the business trips and the forgotten anniversaries. She remembered the days when he would write poems for her and even plan the most romantic dates but inevitably all of the romance got buried by the resentment and there fairy-tale story became more of a horror show.

She knew she should just divorce him and they could both move on with their lives but part of her hoped they could make it work. If she just repeated I love Dan, I love Dan, I love Dan maybe she might start to believe it. After all they once loved each other if there was even the smallest chance they could fall in love again she was going to take it.

That's why she had spent the past three days planning the perfect evening together. First to surprise him he was going to return to find a delicious home cooked meal and then they would watch Dan's favourite movie "last year at Marienbad" Serena hated it and always fell asleep after 10 minutes but Dan seemed to like it so it was worth it. After the film she planned to play pool with him at the bar they had their first date. And they would return to their penthouse to find it lit with candles and full of their closest friends and family. After the guests had left they would finish their romantic evening in bed. To make the night the biggest surprise ever she even told him she would be in Paris for the week, he definitely wouldn't see this coming.

"Are you it's going to work" Nate sighed over the phone "maybe you should just give up"

"What is that supposed to mean" Serena snapped

"Serena you can't just force yourself to love someone, that's not how it works" Serena paused for a while not sure what to say, He was right, she knew that but if she "just gave up" she would have to admit she had spent four years of her life stuck in a loveless marriage, she didn't want to be like her mother. "Look Serena we've been friends for years and I can't stand to see you waste you're life"

"Who says I'm wasting my life" she was mad now, who the hell was he to tell her what to do with her life "I love Dan, always have always will"

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself" Serena could tell that Nate was trying to keep calm and hold himself back from saying something he would regret, he'd had the same sound in his voice for the last few years and she was sick of it.

"Nate if you want to say something say it!"

There was a long pause over the phone for a moment Serena wasn't sure if he was going to answer but he blurted it all out in just a few seconds "you don't love him you stopped loving him the second you left high school he's arrogant, rude and you seem to have conveniently forgot he was gossip girl, he spread rumours about you and ruined our lives and I don't get it, you married him anyway because you are desperate for someone to love you"

After everything that had gone wrong in her life, Georgina stalking her, getting arrested by her own mother even the car crash, Serena had always taken comfort knowing she was part of the non-judging breakfast club. She knew that her adopted brother chuck and her best friend Blair would always scheme against any guy that hurt her. She thought that Nate would always be by her side to comfort her with his kind words but if Nate could say something like this to her maybe it was all a lie maybe Blair and Chuck would just get fed up wither and leave her.

"… Serena I'm sorry, I didn't mean that"

"Yes… you did" she said barely holding back tears "maybe you shouldn't come tonight"

"Ser-" Nate didn't get to finish before she hung up. Normally Serena would have burst into tears but tonight she didn't have time for that, she still had to do her hair and get the chicken out of the oven. She bounced up the stairs and rummaged through her hair supplies trying to find her usual curling tongs. She had only just started her hair when she heard the elevator doors open, great he was early. She was about to welcome him home when she heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Are you sure she won't be home" a female voice whispered

"Why are you whispering, she left for Prise this morning" Dan replied. Okay she shouldn't panic Dan could just be planning something for her as well, it could just be one big misunderstanding. "Besides we've managed to keep this a secret for months now" Dan continued "Serena isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the box"

"I know right, how could she possibly believe you had to go on two business trips in one week, you're a poet not a CEO" the female responded and they both began to giggle and all of a sudden they stopped giggling.

Serena had been scared many times in her life, when someone died right in front of her, when she was in a car crash, when her father left, but none of them compared to the fear of forcing herself to look down the stairs and see what the hell her husband was doing with that bitch. Okay she soothed herself it could just be a mistake there could be a reasonable explanation, so just take a deep breath and walk down those stairs.

It turned out Serena didn't have to force herself to go down the stairs, instead they came to her, half naked and running to the bedroom. Words couldn't even begin to express what she was feeling. Dan and his mistress stood there frozen they didn't have anything to say but Serena sure did.

"I can't believe this"

"Ser-"Dan tried

"How could you do this to me, after all I did for you?"

"Sere-"Dan pleaded

"Who convinced everyone to forgive you after the whole gossip girl thing, ME, who managed to get you a job at that stupid poet agency, ME, who gave you all the money in the world, ME"

"Seren-"

"ALL I DO IS GIVE, GIVE, GIVE AND THIS- THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME… BY SLEEPING WITH SOMEBODY ELSE IN OUR BED!"

"Well technically, we were going to do in in the guest bedroom" Dan interrupted

"Yeah we're not monsters" the mistress agreed

Serena couldn't even respond to that. She just stood there trying to hold back tears before the mistress broke the silence. "I should go"

"No stay" Serena hissed "you two have fun with whatever this is" she turned to Dan "I want your stuff gone by tomorrow" she was about to walk away before she turned to Dan for the last time "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT FOLLOWING ME"

She turned to go down the stairs only to find a bewildered looking Nate standing at the bottom not sure what to do. Serena did the only thing she could think of to avoid him and ran into the elevator.

She waited until the doors were fully closed before she let the waterfall escape her eyes.


	2. Get me drunk

**A/N: hey guys!** **Just in case you get confused this chapter begins a few minutes before Nate and Serena's phone call last chapter. Hope you like it and Please review**

Nate had never been great at buying gifts. Once when he was seven years old he decided to buy his father a lightsabre for Christmas, he was so excited to see his face when he unwrapped the gift, he remembered the shocked expression on his father's face when he ripped open the wrapping paper to find a dildo. After that experience Nate swore he would only buy people chocolates and flowers.

But Serena was a special exception, he loved to see her face when she opened a present, how face would light up, how her eyes would sparkle, how she smiled but most of all he just loved making her happy.

He would always put extra care into buying her a gift especially on days like today. He didn't know the whole story but from what Blair told him it sounded like Dan was being his usual arrogant self and Serena was trying desperately to hold on to their relationship in typical upper east side fashion, she was hosting a party in his honour.

Nate sighed when he saw how busy the shopping centre was, trust Serena to throw a party on black Friday, he pushed through the crowd hoping to get to get to Serena's favourite shop, Dior, before everything was gone.

He was barely in the shop for 2 seconds before a dark haired shop attendant pounced at him, "can I help you" she squealed

He looked at her startled by her sudden appearance, it took him a moment before he got his bearings together and replied "err… no I'm ok" he said. Nate began to walk away and browse the shelf's before she jumped up in front of him again.

"No I insist" she said in what he thought was supposed to be a sweet voice but came out in more of a desperate squeak. "It's my job"

He knew it was stupid but he felt like it was an impersonal gift if he didn't look for it himself but it wasn't as if he had a choice, this woman clearly wasn't giving up and more bargain hunters were pouring into the shop by the second. "Sure" he sighed, He already knew what he was looking for, and maybe she could help him find it. "I'm looking for a perfume called poison"

"Sorry we're all out" the woman said apologetically "I'm sure your girlfriend will be disappointed" she added searching his face. For some reason he couldn't shake the feeling this woman was mentally undressing him.

"Err yeah she will" he lied, he was scared if he corrected this woman he would be here all day while she 'accidently' kept bringing the wrong perfume. "Is Miss Dior still in stock?" he asked. He remembered how she would love that perfume as well.

"YES" the shop assistant snarled, clearly upset that he 'had a girlfriend' "do you want me to go get it"

"That would be nice" he said brightly, imagining Serena's face when she saw it he could picture her face lighting up and how happy she would be to know that no matter how much of an ass Dan was she always had him. He was so lost in his thought's he almost didn't notice the shop attendant storm of into the back room.

She returned a few minutes later shoving the perfume into his hands so hard he was sure she was trying to break the bottle. "$25.44" she said bluntly holding out her hand waiting for the money

"Shouldn't I pay at the checkout?" he asked a little confused why she was being so rude. The woman just glared at him and gestured for him to give her the money impatiently. He looked around the shop half expecting to see the manager apologising to him for their employee's rudeness. He sighed and gently placed the moony onto the girl's palm. "Thanks for helping" he dryly before walking away.

He was about to walk out the store when his phone began to ring. A smile crept onto his face when he saw the caller ID. "Hey Serena" he said, he was about to tell her about the sop attendant who was clearly flirting with him before he heard her voice.

"Hi Natie" she mumbled glumly, suddenly he felt the urge to run to her apartment and hug her, make her feel better. He was about to ask her what was wrong before she answered the question for him. "I think he's cheating on me" she said sounding like she was going to cry. He didn't know what to say. He would be lying if he said he wouldn't be a little happy if they broke up, but he knew that Serena loved Dan and it didn't matter what his feelings were for her she would never return them. He knew he shouldn't try to convince her Dan was cheating, but he didn't want to convince her that he wasn't either. "Nate… are you there"

"Yeah" he said breathlessly "are you sure" he asked trying hard not to sound happy.

"No" she sighed "I just found some under ware that wasn't mine and I just…" she trailed of

There was a long silence over the phone while Nate tried to think of something to cheer her up. "Didn't Blair stay at yours last week" Nate questioned.

"Yeah but you know Blair, she wouldn't forget anything" she moaned "and besides you're just trying to make me feel better". Nate chuckled.

"Serena I have no reason to defend him" he began "and as much as I would love for you two to break up I know he isn't _that_ bad" he said hoping that was enough to cheer her up.

There was a long pause before Serena piped up "yeah I guess you're right" and Nate sighed with relief. Glad that his friend was happy, but if he ever found out Dan was cheating there would be trouble. There was a pause until Serena began to talk about the night she planned for Dan she babbled about how he would love it but Nate couldn't hear her. He just wondered what life would have been like if she had married him instead of Dan, he would be the one planning these romantic nights for her, they could have food fights in the kitchen and go to parties together. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't notice the words coming out of his mouth until it was too late.

"Are you sure this is going to work… maybe you should just give up" he blurted. As soon as the words were out he wished he could take them back. He could tell she would be hurt.

"What is that supposed to mean" Serena snapped. He paused for a moment trying to think of something to say that wouldn't hurt her more than she already was.

"Serena you can't just force yourself to love someone, that's not how it works" he could hear her breathing heavily over the phone and could tell she was thinking hard about something so he gave her a moment before adding "Look Serena we've been friends for years and I can't stand to see you waste your life".

"Who says I'm wasting my life" she said anger rising in her voice. "I love Dan, always have always will"

Nate took a deep breath reminding himself to stay calm "Are you trying to convince me or yourself". He was about to say more but thought better of it.

"Nate if you want to say something say it!" she said clearly irritated at his lack of words. He wanted to confessing his feelings for her and beg her to come back to him he was willing to do anything for her but thought better of it. He had managed to conceal his feelings for almost a decade, and there was no way he was going to ruin that. But she was expecting him to say something and if he can't tell her about his feelings for her he might as well tell her about his feelings about her and Dan.

"You don't love him you stopped loving him the second you left high school he's arrogant, rude and you seem to have conveniently forgot he was gossip girl, he spread rumours about you and ruined our lives and I don't get it, you married him anyway because you are desperate for someone to love you". He expected to feel better after he told her but all he could feel was guilt. "… Serena I'm sorry, I didn't mean that"

"Yes… you did" she said barely holding back tears "maybe you shouldn't come tonight"

"Ser-" Nate started but it was too late she had already hung up. He stood frozen in the middle of the shopping centre paralysed by guilt, all she wanted was somebody to talk to and he made it all about his petty hatred towards Dan. He would have probably stood there forever if it wasn't for the shopper shoving him over. He broke out of his trance and ran to catch a cab.

The drive to Serena's pent house seemed shorter than usual. Probably because he was so nervous she would be mad at him. He made his way to her penthouse thinking of how he could apologise when he heard arguing upstairs.

"ALL I DO IS GIVE, GIVE, GIVE AND THIS- THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME… BY SLEEPING WITH SOMEBODY ELSE IN OUR BED!" he heard Serena scream.

Nate stood there frozen on the spot for the third tome today. He always thought when the day came and they broke up he would be happy, but he just felt so sorry for Serena and wanted to hold her and whisper conferring things in her ear. For a while he conceders' going up there to defend Serena, but deep down he knew it would make it worse for her. After a lot of thinking he decided to wait at the bottom of the stairs for her.

He listened to their fight wincing at the pain he could hear in Serena's voice as she tried to stay strong. He was proud of her though, proud that she didn't crumble at Dan's feet. When the yelling was done he stood up straight ready to help Serena. He looked up to see her staring down at her and cringed at how terrified she looked. He had a whole speech planned in his head but before he got the chance to say anything she had already slipped past him and in the elevator.

The door pinged shut and the last thing he saw was Serena looking completely broken. He ran to the elevator and pushed the button hoping it would come straight up but it was taking far too long. The plan was to just wait for it to come up but he thought of something better. He stomped up the stairs expecting to see Dan looking guilty or at least upset his marriage was over but instead found him completely naked making out with his mistress. He would have been shocked but this was Dan Humphry he was just an ass. "HEY DAN" he called and Dan looked over at him covering up his penis before Nate punched him in the nose. "That was from all of us" he repeated the line he said to him four years ago "you're not welcome here anymore" he said turning back down the stairs and hopping into the elevator.

The elevator doors opened and Serena stormed out she didn't know where she was going and she didn't care. She needed to get out of there be far away from Dan far away from everything. She was about to walk out the door when somebody called her name.

"Serena, wait" he called

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO-"she yelled spinning on her heal to face him when she saw it was Nate, not Dan. "Sorry I thought you were him" she murmured. Nate looked at her he wasn't sure what to do or say. He practically bolted towards her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry S" he said into her neck. "You deserve so much more". She knew she should be sad about Dan but all that she could think was his arms were around her and his face was buried in her neck. Slowly she pushed him away because she couldn't deal with this right now. She had to work through the hurt she was feeling and not just distract herself with another guy, but he wasn't just another guy he was… Nate.

"I think I should be alone right now" she said more to herself than to him.

"Serena" he pleaded "please you've got to let me help you, I won't let you go through this alone". She looked down at her arm, at the small scar she had had for as long as she could remember. For some reason it had always made her want to trust people. She knew if she really wanted to get over Dan she had to find herself, but what the hell it wasn't like the night could get any worse.

"Get me drunk" she said

"Absolutely" Nate replied


	3. The pretty blonde girl

**A/N sorry for the wait and for the length of this chapter I kind of started and couldn't stop lol : ) hope you like it**

Before he could say anything Serena had downed another shot. "You know you were right" she said remembering their phone call this morning "I only married him because I was afraid of being alone, and here I am sitting at a bar drinking alone, how depressing is that"

"Serena you are never alone" he said putting a hand on her shoulder "not as long as I'm here"

She buried her face in her hands before muttering "I guess everyone was about me". Nate knitted his eyebrows together, not sure what she meant. "That I would end up just like my mother, married for a while and then divorced". She buried her face further into her hands to hide her tears. "I married my stalker Nate! And deluded myself into believing we would have a fairy tale ending! How do I get on with my life knowing I could be so stupid?" she lifted her face out of her hands waiting for an answer.

He remembered the old Serena, her eyes were always happy no matter how bad the situation, Her smile could light up a room, her head was always held up high no matter how humiliated she was, something about her just sparkled. He looked at her now and all of that was gone, her eyes were dull and red, her chin was quivering and she was slouched in her chair avoiding eye contact. The worst part was the Serena Van Der Wodsen sparkle had faded. Nobody gets away with doing that to her, especially not a Humphry.

Without a word he hopped out of his chair and held his hand out to help her of the bar stool. "Come on" he said simply.

Serena looked at him a little confused "where are we going and is there alcohol".

Nate chuckled and gave her a mysterious smile "I'm going to give you a tour of the life of the most beautiful amazing alive person I have ever met"

Serena couldn't help but giggle at her best friend, "Do I know her" she whispered leaning forward on her stool.

"You might" He said lifting her of the stool and carrying her out the door. "She's got beautiful blonde hair, amazing legs she can brighten up a room in seconds and not even a god could compete with her beauty"

"Who is it" Serena smiled shyly

"Don't you know Serena?" he said kissing her on the forehead, "It's you"

When Serena stepped out of the taxi she half expected to see Dan holding a gorgeous vase of flowers laughing and telling her it was just a joke he still loved her and there was no chance he would do that to her. Instead she was met by the sharp winter's air and complete darkness. It took a while for her eyes to adjust and when they did she frowned. It's not that she didn't love central park, she did, but not when it was freezing cold on the night she was supposed to spend with her husband.

She looked up at Nate hopping he was joking, but when she saw his face he looked completely serious. "Nate, as much as I love standing in the pitch dark in the middle of winter wearing a mini skirt, why am I here instead of at a bar drowning my sorrows" she teased nudging his arm.

"Ah" he said in the same mysterious grin as before "but I already told you, I' giving you a tour of your life".

"What is that" she asked while Nate buttoned his jacket around her body and held her hand "I already lived my life I'm pretty sure I don't need a tour of it"

Serena looked up at him and for the first time she couldn't place his expression. For years she could read him like a book but now he was too complicated to read. His face was a mixture of sorrow anger and longing, but he couldn't be feeling all of those things at once could he? After all this was Nate, he had the emotional range of a tea spoon. He interrupted her thoughts when he eventually answered her question. "Well, you remember most of your life" he began "but you seem to have forgotten about the people that care". She stared at him for a moment, his face was clear and easy to read again, but for some reason he just looked different. She hadn't seen him this way since before her wedding. She was lost in his eyes when he began to guide her through the park.

They walked in silence through the park, neither of them wanting to say something they would regret. He saw the way she was looking at him earlier, but he knew better than to think too much of it, this was Serena Van Der Woodsen after all. She was heartbroken, drunk and questioning all her life decisions he knew her well enough to know she would latch herself onto the first guy that showed interest. He wanted to believe that his feelings for her were mutual, but deep down he thought she loved him as a friend and nothing more.

As they walked through the cold she kept her head firmly buried in Nate's chest to keep warm. They'd been walking for over half an hour and she was sure he was lost even if he won't admit it. She was half asleep when he stopped in front of what she thought was a pile of scrap metal, but as they got closer she realised it was not junk but an old worn down play park.

The park was rusty and was seriously in need of a paint job. But if you look past that you can tell it was once beautiful. Serena looked at the slides and swings, most of the paint had peeled off but small fragments of a beautiful soft blue remained clinging on to the rusted metal. She almost broke down into tears , she knew it was dumb her husband was cheating on her, she was probably getting a divorce and this is what she was crying about, a couple of old children toys.

It took her a while before she noticed it, but as soon as she did she couldn't look away. Right in the middle there was an old roundabout that looked like if you poked it would crumble but somehow it was still the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"I was hoping you would see that" he said leaning over her shoulder "do you remember?"

"Yes" she breathed, and for the first time that night a genuine smile spread across her face.

 _He knew he shouldn't stare too long or his older cousin would make fun of him, but he couldn't help it. He was only five years old and he wasn't sure what love meant but he knew he loved her. She was spectacular, her golden hair was flowing behind her as she ran across the playground looking under slides as she went. She looked like she had lost something important and he was going to help her find it._

 _Serena huffed as she flopped onto the roundabout. This was the worst game of hide and seek ever. At first she was worried when her dad hadn't come home for days, but her nanny had explained he was only playing hide and seek and he would come out as soon as he wasn't mad at mommy anymore. She'd looked everywhere for him, under his bed, behind curtains she even looked in that club with all the naked woman in it, she knew he loved it there, but after weeks of searching he was still nowhere to be seen. Her mommy told her to give up and he wasn't coming back, but her nanny told her not to believe anything mommy said when she comes home smelling funny, so she always ignored what she said about daddy. But every second Daddy wasn't there a little nagging voice in her head told her mommy was telling the truth. It felt like the world was spinning around her and she couldn't do anything about it, she was actually getting dizzy. She was about to get off the roundabout when she realised it didn't just feel like the world was spinning it actually was, someone was pushing the roundabout. She began to scream for help but her screams were concealed by the yelling of all the other children having fun, she didn't know who was pushing her but she kept catching flashes of a boy with an evil smirk and wearing a funny scarf._

 _He couldn't believe it when he found it. He guessed it would be difficult to find because the blonde girl was searching for ages, but he had barely been searching for five minutes when he saw the most beautiful locket his eyes ad ever set sight on. It had a long delicate silver chain witch led to an oval shaped locket covered in small blue crystals. Sure he had found it around someone else's neck but something this pretty could only belong to the blonde girl._

 _He was almost back at the play park when the brunet girl he had snatched the locket from finally caught up. "HEY!" she yelled jumping in front of him so he couldn't move. "GIVE IT BACK!" she said still yelling even though she was right in front of him._

" _No" he said as calmly as he could "you stole it first". The brunet just looked at him like he was crazy before snatching the locket from him. "GIVE IT" he squealed swatting at the locket in a desperate attempt to get it back. The brunet held it in the air out of his reach and opened it to reveal a picture of her and who he assumed was her parents. He stared at it in disbelief for a moment, he had just stolen a locket… from a GIRL! His mom was going to kill him. "Oh" was the only sound he could muster "I'm sorry" he added quickly. There was another long pause before the brunet piped up._

" _I'M TELLING MY MOM!" she said beginning to turn to face the opposite direction. She didn't even get the chance to take one step forward before he began to beg._

" _Please, please, please don't my mom will kill me" he said getting on his knees. "I thought it was a girls" .the girl looked down at him her expression changing from anger to amusement._

" _What's her name?" she said sounding amused_

" _Um… well… I don't know" he admitted sheepishly_

" _What's she like?" she asked already knowing the answer_

"… _Well… I um… I don't know" he said and the brunet burst out laughing_

" _Have you ever actually spoken to her" she said clearly enjoying this._

" _No" he said feeling slightly ashamed "but I was going to give that to her because I thought it was hers and then she would fall madly in love with me and when I grow up I will marry her" he blurted out all at once before he could stop himself and the girl just laughed even harder and rolled her eyes_

" _Pathetic" she said trying to sound serious but she couldn't stop the giggles. She held out her hand, with perfectly manicured fingers which he thought was odd for someone her age, "Blair" she said simply._

 _Nate just stared at her and said "What about Blair?"_

" _Oh my god you need me" she muttered to herself "I mean my name is Blair" she said again and extended her arm further._

" _Oh" Nate said feeling stupid. "Nate" he said shaking her hand_

" _Well Nate" she said while they both walked towards the play park "tell me about this girl"_

" _Well" he said smiling at the thought of her "she has blonde hair, and she's so pretty, she's even prettier than Cinderella". Nate continued to tell Blair all about the pretty blonde girl until they got to the park. Blair looked around the park for a while and frowned, she couldn't see a blonde anywhere. She looked up at Nate who was equally confused._

" _Which one is she?" Blair asked hoping she hadn't walked half way across central park and wrecked her new shoes in the process for nothing._

" _She's not he-"he began to say until his eyes latched onto something in the distance. Blair followed his eye line and when she saw it her eyes almost popped out of her head. She saw the blonde girl but she wasn't as cheerful as Nate had described, that was probably because an evil looking child was pushing her on the roundabout against her will. "COME ON!" Nate yelled running to the blondes defence and Blair couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy._

 _Serena couldn't believe this first her dad left and now she was going to be trapped spinning in circles forever! She was about to admit defeat when all of a sudden the spinning stopped. She was about to yell at the evil looking boy when she saw a blonde boy had already beet her to it. The blonde boy had tackled the other to the ground and was staring up at her dreamily, she was about to thank him when she felt a hand on her shoulder._

 _She looked around to see a brunet girl, she didn't know why but Serena couldn't help but trust this girl so she ran into her arms and let out a sob._

" _It's okay" Blair whispered soothingly to the blonde and patted her back, she knew she needed to protect her. The two were lost in each other when they were interrupted by Nates yell._

" _What the hell man!" he yelled pulling the evil looking boy up by his collar. "Why would you think that's okay!?"_

 _The boy began to pat the mug of his cloths and straighten his scarf "because" he said an evil smirk growing across his face "I'm Chuck Bass"_

" _And I'm Nate Archerbald but you don't find me bullying helpless beautiful….." he trailed off because he looked at the blonde and got distracted by her long golden hair, her glowing eyes her-_

" _Oh my god" Blair interrupted, irritated by Nates longing, gently pushing Serena aside she walking furiously towards Chuck "look Basshole" she started "don't even think about coming near my friend again"_

" _I like your determination" he said looking her up and down "but you call her a friend and you don't even know her name"_

" _Serena" a small voice piped up behind them "my name is Serena"_

 _The brunet looked at her and gave her the first genuine smile she had given in a long time "I'm Blair"_

 _Serena got up from where she was sitting, no longer crying and took the blonde boys and Blair's hand_

" _We can be like the three musketeers" Blair said sounding like it was her lifelong dream_

 _Serena smirked at Chuck "I'm telling my mom" she stated and walked away hand in hand with her new friends (or as Blair said the three musketeers)_

" _Good luck with that" Chuck called after them "she's dead". The three children stood frozen to the spot, none of them wanting to make the first move. Before Nate or Blair could stop her Serena broke free of her grip and wrapped her arms tightly around Chuck pulling him into a tight hug._

" _If it makes you feel any better" she muttered into his neck "my daddy left us". He managed to pull free from her grip and looked at her apologetically_

" _I'm sorry for the roundabout" he said looking at the ground_

" _Its fine" Serena smiled._

" _Wait" Blair's voice called out from behind "is that it? No scheming, we just forgive him for what he did to you"_

" _Yes" Serena said standing up a little taller as she smiled at the others. "He can be our friend to"_

 _Blair looked up at Nate waiting for him to reason with her new best friend, but instead he was still staring at her dreamily. Honestly she thought to herself this is what you get if you team up with a love sick kid. "No" she stated staring at Serena with disbelief "Serena as your new best friend, I think its best that you don't associate yourself with his kind" she said giving Chuck her famous death glare._

" _Oh come on Blair, he can't be that bad" Nate said. He didn't really care if "Chuck Bass" would join the group, but he really wanted to impress Serena and helping an orphan get friends seemed like the best way to do that (plus the kid looked fun to be around)_

" _Please, please, please" Serena begged "I promise I'll look after him, I'll play with him, I'll feed him, and I'll even walk-"_

" _I am not a dog" Chuck interrupted sounding half irritated and half amused_

 _Blair looked between the three other children and sighed "I guess we could be like the non-judging breakfast club instead of the three musketeers" she said with great exasperation._

 _Serena squealed and pulled the "non-judging breakfast club" into a group hug "this is going to be so much fun" she said clapping her hands together excitedly "I can show you all my little brother Eric, he is soooo cute"_

" _Oh and I can show you all my mom's fashion company" Blair adds and Serena Squeals again_

" _How come I'm stuck with New York's most girly girls… ever?" Chuck teases and Blair nudges him playfully._

" _Watch it" she teases "we can always chuck you out and be the three musketeers again"_

" _S'okay man" Nate said patting Chuck on the back "We can always escape them on my yacht". He never wanted to escape Serena but he really wanted to brag about his yacht._

" _Wait" Serena screamed, eyes widening so much he was terrified they would pop out of her head "you have a yacht!?" Nate grinned glad that bragging about his yacht was paying off. He nodded and Serena couldn't control her excitement any longer._

" _Oh my god we are going to have soooo much fun, we can have parties on it, and swim, and steer it and we can all get-" she started before she was waved off by Blair who looked like she was going to faint._

" _You guys are all elite… right?" she whispered terrified that she might have just bonded with a bunch of commoners. "Because my mom told me this play park was strictly for the upper class"._

" _I live in a pent house in the UES" Serena said offended that her new best friend thought she was common_

" _I have a town house" Nate shrugged. They all turned to Chuck who still hadn't answered Blair's question._

" _Oh please… I'm Chuck Bass" he said as another evil smirk grew across his face "somebody of my physique isn't from Brooklyn" he spat out in disgust. Blair sighed in relief and smiled at her very first friends she didn't plan on using as minions._

 _They spent the rest of the afternoon playing games and debating whose parents were worse. After almost three hours together Serena's nanny told her it was time to leave. She said her goodbyes and exchanged numbers with them before she walked out of the park smiling._

 _All of a sudden she didn't care that her dad walked out of her life because three more people had walked into it._

Serena swallowed hard "Nate I… I…" _I chose the wrong man_ she wanted to say she wanted to tell him she's always loved him even when she was with Dan. But like always she gets scared that he'll reject her or she ruins him like she ruins every other guy she's with. "I'm sorry" she eventually said because it's true, she's sorry that she chose _Dan Humphry_ over the greatest man she ever knew.

He didn't hesitate before he wrapped his arms tightly around her and whispered in her ear "Hey, Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for". He pulled away from her slightly but his arms were still wrapped firmly around her. "It's Dan that should be sorry, do you want me to beat him up for you?" he asked half hoping she would say yes.

Serena giggled at her friend, glad that he was there for her. "You couldn't beat him up if you tried" she teased.

Nate's jaw dropped open and he put his hands to his chest in mock offence. "You cut me deep S" he joked "I've done it before" he said smiling at the memory of punching him in the face when they all found out he was gossip girl.

"Good times" Serena laughs. "If you ever feel like doing that again, be my guest"

Nate smiles grimly "I might take you up on that offer".

Serena looks up at Nate and for the first time since she broke up with him, she allows her eyes to linger. She lets herself notice all the things she used to try hard to ignore, like how his eyes lit up when he looked at her, how he was so tall and his perfectly sculpted body. This was is, she was going to take a chance, before she could talk herself out if it she leaned in and pressed her lips against his, and for a while he kissed her back, she wished that is could last forever but like everything else it came to a close.

He pulled away slowly, wearing a small smile "You have no idea how much I want you" he said still smiling before he forced himself to frown "But not like this, Serena you just got dumped and your drunk"

She felt the tears forming in her eyes before she covered them with her famous Serena Van Der Woodsen smile. "Your probably right Natie" she said trying hard to keep the smile on her face "Seeing as you are such a gentleman" she began as she linked arms with him "will you walk me home?"

"Always"

 **A/N hey guys sorry there wasn't much NS in that chapter but I couldn't resist putting some NJBC in there ; ) but don't worry next chapter they will have more time together. I hope you liked it please review constructive criticism welcome.**


	4. Diamond for a rock

The silence between the pair was almost suffocating, they did their best to ignore it on the walk home, awkwardly making small talk about the weather and other things they didn't really care about, but when the elevator doors closed she couldn't take it anymore.

"I don't want things to change" she blurted out "between us I mean… I don't want it to be awkward" she explained even though he already knew what she meant.

He put his arm around her, closing the distance between them. "Serena things could never be awkward between us" he said because it was the truth, they had a one night stand together, they had dated and broken up hell they she had even cheated on him with one of his closest friends and things weren't awkward between them, one drunken kiss wasn't going to change anything. There was a few moments of a comfortable silence before he felt her skinny arms wrap around him

"Thankyou" she whispered into his ear. He didn't know what she was thanking him for but he couldn't bring himself to care he just breathed in the familiar smell of her shampoo and let himself relax into her body.

= XOXO

The brunet paced up and down the room clearly irritated.

"Blair would you calm down" he said helping himself to an apple from the fruit bowl.

"How can I calm down Chuck" she snapped taking the apple he was biting into and throwing it across the room. "It's bad enough that she forces us to pretend to be happy for her and her failing marriage but now she's running two hours late for the party she had us organise!"

He tried to put his hand on her shoulder or anything else that would calm her down but she just waved him of and looked at the empty room. "Nobody came, not even Nate"

"Blair you know why he couldn't come" he sighed, Chuck Bass wasn't the kind of guy that felt pity for love struck idiots but he saw the pain on the guys face every single day since he let her go, because in the end you only regret the things you didn't take and Nate learnt that the hard way.

"I know I just wish…" she trailed of desperately trying to hold back her tears "I just wish she could see wat everyone else see's… I just wish she could see if she was brave enough to say goodbye life would reward her with a new hello" She sighed thinking of all the happiness her best friend had traded in for a marriage cabbage patch. She took a deep breath and turned to see Chuck's shoulders shaking desperately trying to supress a laugh and she threw his half eaten apple at him and yelled "THIS ISN'T FUNNY BASSHOLE". And at that he exploded into so much laughter he was practically rolling on the ground.

"I'm sorry" he smirked after he had calmed down "It's just 'if you are brave enough to say goodbye life will reward you with a hello'" he said mimicking her dreamy voice from before "It's just a little more… cheesy than I'm used to" .

"Ugh" she groaned throwing her hands in throwing her hands in the air "I can't believe I married you!" she looked at the elevator which much to her disgust Serena still hadn't walked out of. "It's too hot in here!" she complained.

"Oh I'm sorry should I leave" He smirked turning Blair to face him

Blair couldn't help but laugh at her husband as she was reminded exactly why she married him "And you say I have the cheesy lines". They were about to kiss when the ping of the elevator interrupted them. "After two hours THIS is the moment she chooses to arrive "she said exasperated "Right happy face" she said to Chuck before walking to the elevator.

"Oh I am very happy" He smirked staring at his wife's ass

Blair mentally prepared herself for whatever image her best friend and Humphry were about to scar her with, having to look at Humphry's stupid face was bad enough without Serena's attached to it. When the doors opened her fake smile was replaced by a real one

She was met not by the sight of a blonde and a brunet but by two blondes.

"Oh. My. God." She squealed jumping up and down on the spot like an excitable child. "Chuck get over here!" she yelled at her husband who was retrieving his half eaten apple.

"Blair-"Serena tried

"Well, well, well" chucks smug voice interrupted "My sister and best friend getting hot and heavy in the elevator" he looked at Nate his smirk only growing bigger "I have taught you well Nathaniel"

"Chuck-"Nate began

"Oh my god" Blair squealed again, eyes darting between Nate and Serena like it was a ping pong match "I can't believe it! My ship was sinking and now it is rising from the ocean like a beautiful dolphin!"

"Blair-"both Nate and Serena insisted

"And to think I was about to start a scheme to make you two lovebirds to realise your true feelings" she said happily clapping her hands together "So?" she said beginning to drag her best friends to sit on the sofa ignoring their protests. "Tell us how did this happen? How did Humphry take it?"

It hits her like a ton of bricks it might have only been a little while, but Nate had managed to make her forget, all the hurt, the betrayal even the very existence of Dan Humphry but now she remembered.

She felt his grip tighten around her waist and she couldn't help but smile. Yes Dan had hurt her in the worst way imaginable but that only reminded her of how Nate would never do that. "He didn't have to take it, he was too busy making out with his secretary" she said as if it was nothing important, she actually had to supress a laugh when she saw her brother and best friends reactions. Blair's eyes had almost popped out of her head and chuck had stormed off muttering something along the lines of "nobody does that to my sister and comes out alive"

She looks across at Blair who is biting her lip and Serena can only guess she is coming up with a scheme. As if on que Blair aggressively pushes herself of the sofa "call me if you need me S me and Chuck have got scheming to do".

Normally that look in Blair's eyes would make her shiver but today it just made her smile grimly "do your worst"

"Oh by the time we're done with him he'll wish he was never born" Blair smiles, clearly daydreaming of all the ways to torture Humphry. They both pull in for a long hug and she whispers with a little more empathy (but she still sounds angry) "It's going to be okay S"

"I know B" she whispers back "now go torture my husband".

Blair smiled she liked this side of Serena, she held her hand briefly for support and quickly hopped into the elevator to catch up with her husband. She had been waiting a long time to make cabbage patch suffer and she now finally had an excuse. She was going to enjoy this.

They both watched Blair stride out of the apartment with an evil grin on her face and couldn't help but shudder. As mad as he was at Dan he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him, nobody wanted to feel Blair and Chuck Bass's wrath. Neither of them are talking but it's not awkward, and Nate can't help but smile, because they don't need to fill each silence with small talk that's just how comfortable they are around each other.

He looked at her and she wasn't crying, in fact she was smiling. Most girls in her situation would be distraught and depressed but not Serena. She accepted that life isn't perfect and people do bad things, it was one of the many reasons he loved her.

Part of him couldn't help but hate her for being so perfect. Not just her beauty but just how she was. Like how she always put others before herself, or how she trusted everyone even if it was against common sense, or how she still acted like a child and had fun despite being from the Upper East Side. All of these things made it so difficult for him to pretend he didn't love her.

He didn't mean to love her it just kind of happened, one minute he loved her and the next he was in love with her. He didn't want to love her there were so many reasons he shouldn't love her, she was his ex-girlfriends best friend, she was his best friends sister and she was married but he couldn't help it.

"I should go" he said before he did anything he would regret. He was halfway to the elevator when he felt her delectate fingers wrap around his wrist.

"Can you stay" she whispered "Just for a little while".

He hesitated because he knew if he stayed he wouldn't be able to resist her but she looked so sad and he couldn't bear to be the reason. "Always" he said more to himself than her, because he knew at the end of the day he would always do whatever she asked.

They spent the next hour eating Chinese and arguing over which celebrity couples are best. "How can you possibly think Jennifer Aniston is better for Brad Pitt than Angelina Jolene!?" Serena screamed at Nate

"Because Jen is _way_ hotter" he shrugged taking another bite of his meal

"If Jennifer is hotter why did Brad sleep with Angelina?" He was about to reply when he realised she wasn't talking about celebrities anymore. "Do you think Jennifer was too slutty, to loud, wasn't their enough, to childish?"

"Brad was just an ass" he said firmly looking into her eyes so she knew he wasn't lying "and so is Dan, cheating on you is like throwing away a diamond and picking up a rock"

She managed to give him a small smile, it only lasts a second but at least it's genuine. "Yeah but even if he threw me away for a rock, he still threw me away." She whispered "I'm just fed up of people throwing me away for someone else you know? Dan threw me away for his secretary, Tripp threw me away for Murine and Carter threw me away so he could be a slave! Am I that unlovable?"

"Serena you are the most loveable person in the universe." Nate chuckles "can you name one guy that hasn't fallen at your feat"

"That's my point" she exclaimed throwing her hands in the air "People always think 'oh look its Serena Van Der Woodsen she's so beautiful it must be easy for her to get the guy' but it's not. Whenever I find someone they never take me seriously, they either love me for what I used to be or what they want me to be, why can nobody just love me for me?"

He wants to tell her he loves her for her, but he can't so he settles for the next best thing "Serena you are perfect, just because Dan doesn't see it doesn't mean it's not true"

A goofy grin finds its way onto her face as she settles onto the couch "you always know what to say Archerbald" she moans sleepily "I wish I could find a guy like you"

He doesn't know where his sudden courage comes from but before he can think he says "well… maybe if you can't find someone like me you should just date me?" He waits a long time and all he can hear is silence "Serena?" and that's when a snore escapes her lips. He can't help but laugh at his bad luck, of course the one time he is brave enough to ask her out she falls asleep.

He scoops her up into his arms and carries her up the stairs. He can't help but wonder if Dan would have ever done this for her or if he would just leave her down there, he knows that he would have probably left her and he probably never did anything for his wife and it just hurt. It hurt to know that after all he did for Serena she still chose Dan over him.

He makes sure she is comfy on the bed before he turns away and he promises himself not to look back.

But some promises are made to be broken.

He knows that it sounds like a cliché but she really does look like a fallen angel with her golden hair spread across the bed sheets and her hands on her heart. She really is too beautiful to be on this planet. He doesn't know if he should smile because she's his friend or cry because that's all he will ever be. He knows he should turn away before he's tempted to stay but god dammit she's just so beautiful.

He finally builds up the strength to leave when her soft voice interrupts him. "Nate could you lay with me" he doesn't know when she woke up but all he can do is pray it was after he asked her out _no_ he is about to say but her pleading voice interrupts him "just for a little while"

If this was any other girl he would have just left, but this wasn't just any other girl this was _Serena Van Der Woodsen_ the girl of his dreams so what else could he do but climb into her bed and cuddle up to her.

"Always" he whispered into her ear.

 **A/N sorry it took so long to update again. The next chapter should be added sometime within this week hope you liked it and please like follow and review**


	5. hotter than fire

She stretched her arm out to find Nate's warmth but instead all she found was empty sheets. She knows she shouldn't be disappointed, she is technically still married after all but she can't help it.

She tried to push herself out of bed but the pounding in her head pushed her right back down again. She tried to push herself up again when she felt somebody gently push her down again. "Hey, just stay down until you feel better" Nate said placing a glass of water with paracetamol on the table "how hungover are you?" he asked supressing a laugh.

"M'not hungover" she said pulling the blankets over her head to protect herself from the sunlight "just got wine flue" she heard him laugh normally she would think of a comeback but today she was way to hungover so she threw a pillow at him "s'not funny Archerbald"

"Sorry" he said even though he didn't mean it "I'll be downstairs making breakfast if you need me".

She sat up on the bed and looked around the empty room, and for the first time she realised she hated it. She hated the murky grey colour Dan had painted the walls, she hated the square looking furniture Dan chose, she hated all the artsy paintings Dan had hung on all the walls but most of all she hated herself for letting Dan have so much control, not just in the apartment but her life.

With determination she pushed herself of the bed, ignoring the throbbing in her head, and walked to the wardrobe. She didn't care that Dan wasn't here anymore she was going to get dressed, look good, go have breakfast and get on with her life.

She was done letting him control her, for the past four years she had acted like the perfect trophy wife, planning parties, cleaning the house she even did his laundry and that seriously said something because his socks smelt like something had died in them. But for now on she was going to stop acting like a trophy wife and just be herself.

She furiously threw all her old loose knee length housewife dresses across the room and pulled out a dress she hadn't wore since she was twenty two. It was a simple tight white dress that barely stretched past ass, it might be a little revealing but it's who she is and she's not changing that for anyone ever again. She slipped it on and tore down the ponytail Dan liked her hair in and let it fall in loose waves down her back, she applied her makeup the way she liked it and studied herself in the mirror and smiled, She hadn't looked or felt this confident in a long time, and she loved it.

She walked down the stairs like she was wearing an invisible crown, she wasn't insecure about how short her dress was or how her hair looked, because Dan wasn't here to put her down anymore by telling her she looks like a common hooker and her hair looks like it hasn't been combed in days. She has Nate told her she looks 'hot' and her hair looks amazing.

She bounced onto a stool and watched as Nate tried to figure out how to work an oven, he was apparently trying to turn it on by voice command because he kept staring at it repeating the word 'on'. "Do you want some help?" she finally asks putting the poor guy out of his misery.

He jumps when he hears her voice and spills the flour all over the kitchen floor, they both react immediately and kneel down to try sweeping it up with their hands. "No its okay I just-" he starts to protest but when he looks up at Serena he is completely speechless, her golden hair is in loose waves down her back, she has got barely any makeup on and her dress, well he can't think of any words to describe how good that dress makes her look. She looks like a Greek goddess.

"What?" she asks suddenly beginning to feel very self-conscious "is it the dress? Is it too much?"

"No, no" he says unable to tare his eyes away from her "you look beautiful"

She ducks her head down to hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks "thankyou" she smiles shyly before she shakes herself awake, 'no you cannot have feelings for Nate' she thinks to herself. "Right" she says jumping up from where she was kneeling to stop herself from doing something she would regret "so how far have you gotten on operation breakfast" she says thinking she knows the answer judging by the mess around her.

"Well…" he said avoiding eye contact and shuffling on his feet "so far nothing"

Serena can't help but chuckle at how unbelievably adorable he looks "okay so what are we making" she asks trying to remember how to turn on the oven

"We?" Nate asks jokingly "the last time you cooked I distinctly remember your mother having to buy a new apartment due to fire damage"

"Hey!" she defended throwing her hands in the air "There was something wrong with that microwave"

"Sure it was the microwave" he said laughing and she playfully punches him on the arm laughing along with him.

"So what are we making?" she asks again looking at the pile of unused ingredients on the counter. He had pulled some usual ingredients like flour, eggs, and milk and she guest they were making pancakes but then the other foods caught her eye vinegar, baked beans and for the life of her she couldn't think of a single breakfast that had Twizzlers in it.

"Pancakes" he responded with a shrug as if these were usual ingredients. She was about to tell him that pancakes weren't supposed to have pickles in them but then again who was she to tell him how to cook, she burnt her mother's apartment down trying to cook a microwave meal.

"So how do we make pancakes?"

"Just put all the ingredients in the bowl and mix, I've already measured them out" he said pulling a bowl from the shelf. Serena looked doubtfully at the ingredients on the counter.

"Really, you want to put a whole jar of pickles in?" she said hopping he was joking

"Of course not, Serena" he finally said and she let out a sigh of relief, she was getting a divorce and her husband was cheating on her the last thing she needed was to be poisoned. Her relief was short lived though "We have to mash them up first" he finished.

"Um Natie I hate to break it to you but this recipe looks disgusting"

"It'll all work out in the end" Serena looked at him doubtfully for a moment before rolling her eyes and mixing all the ingredients, cringing slightly at the mushy green mixture she had created.

After he had finished mashing up the jar of pickles she added them to the bizarre blend of ½ cup of vinegar 1 tin of beaked beans 4 Twizzlers 6 eggs 1 spoon of milk and 1 tea spoon of flour.

She was not looking forward to eating them when she remembered the biggest problem they were facing. The oven. The last time she turned one on she was four and it was only because she thought the light was pretty. And judging by Nate's attempt to turn it on by voice command she knew this was going to take a while.

After twenty minutes of Nate trying to turn it on by singing 'good morning' (badly) Serena had a brainstorm. "Hey that's a gas oven right?" she said excitedly because she thinks she's finally cracked it.

"Um… yeah I guess" he said while looking it up and down for a sign

"Be right back" she chirped running up the stairs. A few minutes later Nate watched a surprisingly strong Serena carry a tank of gas own the stairs.

"What are you doing" he asks a little confused, he walks forward to help her carry the tank down to the kitchen before she hurt herself.

"Well, if it's a gas oven maybe it won't turn on because it's run out of gas" she huffs as they put down the tank.

"Oh okay" he says feeling stupid for not thinking of this before "So where's the slot the gas goes into?"

"I think we just pour it on top" She said pouring some gasoline on top of the oven "Do you have a match" she asks him and he hands her a box of them

"How did we not think of this before" but his question is answered as soon as the match hits the gas flames erupt everywhere. They both stood there dumbstruck for a few milliseconds before the realisation finally kicked in.

"FIRE FIRE FIRE! OH MY GOD A FIRE" Serena yelled running in circles, she couldn't believe this was happening again, this was the last time she was ever going to cook. She's completely panicking when something even hotter than fire distracts her.

Nate had ripped his shirt off and was beating the fire with it and she couldn't help but stare at his perfect abs. She knew it was the completely wrong time to check out her best friend but dam he was hot.

When the fire was out Nate stared at the oven panting from the hard work. He looked at Serena to make sure she was okay but when he saw her she was staring at him in awe. A cocky smile grew across his face and he wiggled his eyebrows "see something you like Van Der Woodsen"

His voice shakes her awake from her fantasy and she tries her best to make her face look nonchalant "You wish Archerbald" a cock grin finding its way onto her face as well "We both know you couldn't handle me"

"Oh really?" he says taking a step closer "I think you're the one that couldn't handle me"

"Please" she said rolling her eyes "The only thing hotter than _you_ is _me_ "

"So you agree I am hot?" He said teasingly knowing that it would make her blush, and right enough she looked down covering her face with her hair but he could still see the edge of her ears going red

"No- well yes- but- oh you know what I mean" she stutters getting more and more flustered by the second.

"I know" he said putting his hand on her shoulder reassuringly "It's okay" He repeats when he sees she's still nervous "If it helps I think you're hot to"

She looks up at him and their eyes lock, It's different from when her eyed locked with Dan, when she looked into Nates Eyes she didn't see regret or hatred she just saw love, pure unconditional love. She has a sudden urge to kiss him again, like last night but she knew deep down if she wasn't good enough for Dan she defiantly wasn't good enough for Nate.

It takes all the strength she has, but she clears her throat and takes a step away from him, she winces when she sees the pain flash across his face. "So…" she begins pretending not to see the pain on his face "Pancakes… how're we going to cook them without an oven"

He chuckled a little and she was glad she hadn't completely broken him "I don't think that's possible Serena"

"Oh I beg to differ" She smirked that cocky grin finding its way onto her face again.

He couldn't help the goofy grin that followed because he loved how mischievous she was "what are you planning Van Der Woodsen"

She just gave him a goofy grin and skipped up the stairs "You'll see" she called over her shoulder.

For the second time that day she walked down the stairs carrying something completely unexpected. "Why the hell do you own a blow torch?" he asks a little scared to hear the answer , and then his mind wanders to Serena using a blow torch and he can't help but be a little turned on.

She shrugged "It was Dan's, he said he needed it to fix the heating or something like that".

"Okay but how are we supposed to cook pancakes with a blow torch?" he was pretty sure he knew the answer and all he could do was pray that he was wrong but the sly grin Serena was wearing confirmed his greatest fears.

"You're going to hold the pan out and I'm going to blow torch the bottom of it silly" She poured some of the mixture into the pan and handed it to him

"Why don't you hold the pan and I'll torch it" he asks

"Are you saying a woman can't blow torch things?" she says knowing that as soon as she brought feminism into this he would pipe don and let her have some fun with the blow torch.

Apparently she knew him well because he wordlessly took the pan and held it as far away from him as he could. He flinched when he saw her coming closer with the torch because letting anyone burn something inches away from your hand was a little scary, letting Serena Van Der Woodsen, the girl who burnt down her house using a microwave, do it was absolutely terrifying.

He felt her delicate hand hold onto his shoulder and she whispered into his ear "trust me". And that's all it took for his body to relax, because no matter how irresponsible or clumsy she was he would always trust her.

"Always" he whispers back.

After forty five minutes of blowtorching hell, they have a giant batch of delicious smelling and looking pancakes. "I hate to admit it Archerbald" she says plonking herself on his lap because the modern chairs Dan chose were so uncomfortable "But these smell amazing"

"Well let's just hope they taste as good as they look".

They didn't.

There are no words to describe how disgusting that batch of pancakes tasted, Serena spat her mouth fool across the room and Nate was scraping his tongue with his fingernails.

"Oh my god that was disgusting" she giggled burying her face into his chest, she was laughing so hard she had to wrap her arms around Nate so she didn't fall off of him. He could feel her falling off so he held her lower back to stop it.

"I know" he laughed "I don't think we should cook again for a while"

"Ever" she corrected still laughing into his chest. They stayed like that for a while, just breathing each other in and laughing

"Well we hate to interrupt this… intimate moment" they both look up to see Blair and Chuck Bass smiling smugly down at them. "But we have some important news" chuck continued

Blair strode forward looking proud of herself to sit on the char, wincing at how uncomfortable it was and slammed some files onto the table. Serena and Nate gave her a questioning look.

This time Blair answered "We've got a plan to take Humphry down"

 **A/N told you I would update this week : ) so this chapter was mainly S getting over D and a little NS friendship fluff, but don't worry I have plans to get them to get together very soon. Just a little heads up it might take me a while to update because I haven't actually thought of a scheme worthy of Humphry yet and I've got** _ **allot**_ **of school work to do, as always please do revue I love hearing from you guys**


	6. make Humphrey un-comfy

She couldn't help but shake as she looked at the one person she never wanted to see again, she wasn't sure if it was fear, anger or maybe both but whatever emotion he was making her feel it was defiantly not love.

He looked happy with her, his new girlfriend, happier than he ever looked with her, and she couldn't wait to wipe that smile of his face. He was at the other side of the room with his hand around the mistress's waist talking seriously to who Serena guessed was his editor. He hadn't seen her yet and she was glad, it would probably ruin Blair's plan if he did.

At first when Blair told her she would have to go to Dan's new book's launch for phase ono of 'make Humphry un-comfy' she was a little shocked, she half expected that they would just send him to an insane asylum or something and that would be it, but according to Blair that was too good for him.

They had to take everything he loved away from him piece by piece

*yesterday*

Serena almost fell of Nate's lap when Blair told her that she had a plan. She half expected they would do the scheming without her, she usually messed it up anyway, the other half of her expected it to take longer for the Bass family to conger up a plan worthy of Humphry.

"You-you have a plan" she said eyes darting between her brother and best friend, dread evident in her eyes. It's not like she still had feelings for her soon to be _ex_ -husband but she couldn't face him yet, it was only yesterday she found him with his secretary attached to his face.

"First things first" Chuck interrupted leaning in the doorway with a smirk on his face "why is my sister on your lap Nathanial?" he asked wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"The chairs are un-comfy" she said not bothering to get off, instead her grip tightened around his neck. The husband and wife just gave her an unconvinced look which Serena chose to ignore.

"Second thing" Blair continued a little curious "what the hell happened to your kitchen?"

"Oh… um well we thought we needed to put gas on the oven" Serena mumbled, she thought back to the fire, the disgusting pancakes she couldn't control the laugh that escaped her lips and almost as if they were linked Nate began to laugh aggressively causing both him and Serena to fall to the ground.

Nate was on top of Serena his arms on the floor next to her barely pushing himself above her, leaving only a fractional space between them. They weren't laughing anymore, this was far from a joke. She couldn't take her eyes of his lips and he couldn't keep his eyes of hers, it'd only been a night ago that they had been connected and she couldn't help but wish it would happen again.

She didn't have to wish for long though, Nate was slowly leaning in. It was a perfect moment two people that loved each other finally admitting their feelings, their lips were milometers apart when the sound of Chuck clearing his throat interrupted them.

Almost as quickly as it began it stopped, he sprang off of her and she slowly got up and pulled her dress down self-consciously. Blair shot daggers at Chuck he had just interrupted a very important moment between her OTP "oh sorry the idea of my best friend and sister making out in front of me made me uncomfortable" he said before his wife glared a hole in him "please do continue" he said doing hand gestures insinuating more than an innocent kiss.

"You're disgusting" Serena said glaring at her brother even though she was secretly amused. "So you have a plan?" she asked to more to distract herself from Nate than genuine interest.

Blair rolled her eyes at her best friend, why couldn't she just follow Chuck's advice and kiss Nate like a normal person "It's in the file" she said pointing at the binder she had dropped on the table earlier today.

Serena looked at the binder and saw it was so full that they had to use elastic bands to keep it shut "You can't be serious" she said raising her eyebrows at the brunet "why can't we just throw him into an asylum or some Jesus camp like everyone else who wronged us?"

"Because that's too good for Humphry" both the brunet's said in union

"So what's the plan?" both the blondes asked in union

The husband and wife smiled fondly at how in sync the two blondes were, Blair was secretly counting down the days until the double dates started "Well I call it operation make Humphry un-comfy" Blair said with an evil smirk that put Chuck's to shame "we are going to take everything he loves away from him piece by piece"

"So what do we do first?" Nate asked intrigued and even if he didn't want to admit it excited by the plan, nobody does that to Serena and gets away with it.

"Well what's the three things he loves most in the world?" Chuck asked

"Books" Serena tried

"Being an ass" Nate said grudgingly.

"His career, money and his family" Blair corrects with the devil in her eyes "and we're going to destroy them"

*now*

She walked silently but confidently through the rows of chairs she wasn't scared of Dan, he should be scared of her. It helped that she wasn't alone Nate was right behind her, and that boosted her confidence more than it probably should. Of course Blair was there to, fearlessly leading the group to their seats, there was no way she was missing the take down of her mortal enemy.

They all sat down still not talking, what was there to say. All they had to do was sit back relax and enjoy the show. Her eyes carefully followed her ex-husband as he walked onto the stage with a smug smile on his face and Serena wondered how long it would take before it was replaced by the same look she wore when she caught him with his secretary.

He started to talk about his new book and she rolled her eyes when she noticed how in awe the audience were, boy were they going to be angry when they all found out what their favourite author really was.

He continued to talk about how much effort he put into his book and she scoffed. "And now" he announced lazily "you can all watch a video that sums up the book". She squeezed Nate's hand in anticipation, this was it the beginning of the end.

"What you doing?" Serena's voice rang out from the screen. It was a shaky home video, nothing special, but what was recorded on that crappy low budget camera had the power to destroy the prestigious reputation Dan had worked _oh so_ hard to get.

She watched in amusement as his eyes snapped up when her realised this was no advert for his book "TURN IT OFF, TURN IT OFF!" he yelled in desperation eyes scanning the crowd for the DVD player, but when he saw it he lost all hope of keeping his dirty secret, he saw none other than Chuck Bass leaning lazily against the DVD player with smirk on his face.

"Just writing the new book" Dan said on screen not bothering to look away from his computer. The shaky camera continued to walk to him ignoring his lack of interest. It zoomed in to his face, she can't remember why she wanted a close up of him probably because she thought he was beautiful at the time, but the camera soon moved its lens towards the computer which was definitely not writing a book.

Instead it was downloading something "No you're not, what're you downloading" Serena's giggling voice echoed through the room. Dan just stared as the screen obviously trying to block out the sound of his wife, you could almost picture her lips curled up and eyes sparkling behind the camera "let me guess… you're downloading a book from the internet and taking credit for it" she said laughing at her own joke. She almost immediately stopped when Dan's face changed from indifferent to guilty. "Wait your not are you?"

"Let's just call it inspiration" he said slyly, a smirk growing on his face she still shuddered at how similar he looked to Chuck.

"DAN!" her voice yelled coldly, the entire audience jumped at how quickly her voice changed from the warm summer like tone to a stone cold shriek even Blair Bass couldn't pull off. "THAT PERSON PUT THEIR HEART AND SOLE INTO THAT NOVEL AND YOU'RE JUST GOING TO STEAL IT! THAT'S TOTALLY ILEGAL! WE COULD LOSE EVERYTH-"

Dan, still not bothering to look away from his computer waved his wife of with the flick of his hand before he sent the camera a glare that she was suppressed didn't crack the lens "Serena stop pretending to be smart and go make me a cup of coffee"

The camera was cut out and the darkness consumed the room. She watched as all his 'loyal' fans stormed out of the room, a few of them with tears streaming down their faces, some of them throwing their signed copies at him but all of them were angry.

She looked up at her _darling husband_ who was completely broken, she had always told him on his darkest day, when nobody could remember his name and all hope seemed lost she would be by his side because 'I love you Dan Humphry, always have always will' but she wasn't there nobody was, not even his mistress, it almost sickened her how much pleasure she got from his misery.

It didn't take long before his eyes met hers and he knew exactly what happened, Serena honestly didn't know why he was surprised, after all wasn't he the one saying the upper east side was poison what did he expect would happen when the _lonely boy_ broke the _it girls_ heart? Did he honestly think that the non-judging breakfast club would let it go?

She linked arms with her two best friends not bothering to give Dan a second look and walked away from him, on the way out Blair held Chuck's hand. All four of them walked triumphantly not caring that there was only enough room to walk in pairs on the sidewalk because none of them were going to let go of each other ever again.

As she walked away she couldn't help but feel like she did all those years ago in the playpark, Yes someone she loved had just walked out of her life but three people way more important than him had just walked back into it.

=xoxo

Secrets never stay secrets on the Upper East Side, it only took seconds before word spread about the Humphry scandal. It was almost funny how one little secret could cause such devastation.

He stole somebody's work so they stole his money. They didn't even bother to put it to court, they had all the evidence they needed anyway. That's how Dan found himself on a bus from his luxury apartment to his Father's small rundown apartment in Brooklyn.

He hadn't called his family in a while, well that's not strictly true he called them ten minutes ago but they didn't pick up, he assumed the phone was turned off or something.

The second he stepped of the bus he let out a loud groan, after all his work, all of the hours he locked himself in his office, all of the time he pretended to care about Serena and he was standing here again, on Brooklyn soil.

Every step he took was excruciating, but not from physical pain, he hated it here he spent his whole life trying to dig his way out but now he had no choice but to jump right back in.

He exhaled deeply before pushing the door, mentally preparing himself to be bombarded with his Father's homemade waffles and sympathy, but that's far from what he got.

He was met by Rufus's icy stare and his sisters watery one "how could you!" she whaled holding her hand against her mouth to muffle the sobs.

He just glared at her. How come the judging breakfast club just destroyed his life and everyone was on Serena's side "Oh come on! None of this is my fault Serena's-"

"We're not talking about you're stupid book" Rufus said trying to stay calm "you told me she knew" he said pointing to Jenny

Dan stood frozen to the spot, she knew about gossip girl. He told everyone that she already knew because he knew his dad well enough to know he would never forgive him for doing that to Jenny without permission, he also knew he that if he told him that Jenny already knew and she wanted him to post all that stuff about her Rufus would probably never bring it up again to avoid the awkward conversation.

"I can't believe you did this to me" she sobbed not bothering to hide the tears anymore

"How did you find out?" he asked infuriated his masterplan failed

"Really that's all you can say" Rufus yelled giving up on staying calm "you won't even apologise after you did _that_ to _my_ daughter!"

"I'm you're son" he said rolling his eyes, he was having a bad day and he really wasn't in the mood for people dwelling on the past.

"Not anymore" Rufus said quietly, placing a hand on Dan's chest pushing him out of the apartment and slamming the door in his face.

=xoxo

They got home around midnight, refusing to take any public transport Blair forced them to walk all the way, none of them cared though they were in to high spirits to care about anything. They didn't even care when Serena and Nate started to drunkenly sing 'we are the champions'.

"Cause we are the champions" She sang really of tune

"Of the world" he sang just as badly as the pair stumbled into the apartment, a completely sober pair of brunets following behind with smirks on their faces. The blondes fell onto the sofa laughing harder than they had in a really long time.

"Thanks" she said seriously staring at the husband and wife, they both looked at her quizzically "for helping take down Dan"

"Yeah man" Nate said still a little drunk "and telling Jenny about gossip girl… that was a nice touch"

"Well I had to use my genius on something, other than in the bedroom" he said winking at Blair before finding his way to the alcohol cabinet.

"Too much information bro" Serena squeaked covering her face with her hands

"Well if he didn't use his genius on something else I would need a vagina transplant" Blair said cunningly, she knew how uncomfortable that it would make her. A triumphant smile played on her lips when she saw it was working.

Serena buried her face in Nate's neck hopping that this conversation was just a terrible nightmare at the end of a good day. "Stop torturing Serena" Nate said in a scolding voice even though he was suppressing a laugh.

Chuck returned to the group handing a glass of scotch to each of them. Nate wrinkled his nose up at the glass in front of him "I thought we should toast" Chuck explained pushing the glass closer to his friend.

"Can't we toast with beer" Nate said pleadingly.

Chuck shot him a disapproving glair "have I taught you nothing Nathanial".

Nate grudgingly grabbed the brown liquid in front of him "What should we toast to?" he asked

"To the success of operation 'make Humphrey un-comfy'" Blair stated like it was the most obvious thing on the planet.

They were about to clink glasses when the beautiful blonde spoke up "no" she stated with a wide smile on her face "to new beginnings" she said looking straight at Nate.

"To new beginnings" they all cheered pushing their glasses together.

Serena took a sip of her drink and immediately spat it out "ew Chuck, what is this" Nate nodded in agreement ant the two brunets stared at their best friends in disbelief.

"You two have no taste" Blair tutted and the whole room burst into laughter, how could four people with absolutely nothing in common, except from money, be such close friends?

A feeling started to stir in Nate's chest, and he hadn't felt it in so long it took him a while to register what it was.

Hope.

He wasn't sure how but he was going to win back Serena if it was the last thing he did.

 **A/N- hey guys I'm so sorry it took me so long to update… again. I don't know if that's the takedown you were hopping for but I just couldn't think of anything so I wrote this. I'm not sure if it's any good but I hope it's good enough.**

 **I realise there was barely any NS in this chapter but don't worry they will have plenty of time together next time.**

 **So if you haven't already guessed I really hate Dan and I'm glad to tell you this is the last time he will be in this story. I'm going to try to update every two weeks but I can't promise anything. As always please favourite, follow or revue**


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